The strange part is that Yahoo! bans the sale of all endangered and protected species on their other sites, yet it has made no significant effort to persuade its Japanese subsidiary to end the sale of whale and dolphin products. In a statement, EIA senior campaigner Clare Perry said: “Yahoo! continues to ignore international outrage over the sale of whale and dolphin products via its Japanese website, even as it continues to profit from the slaughter of whales and dolphins.”

The EIA report states that Yahoo! Japan offers 249 whale products — including sashimi, bacon and canned whale meat — for sale on its fee-based sales and auction sites. Interestingly, when it was revealed that Amazon Japan engaged in similar practices, they swiftly announced a complete ban – and they had 100 fewer whale products for sale.

Most shockingly, the report states that many products come from internationally protected great whale species such as the fin, sei, minke, sperm and Bryde’s whale—all of which are protected under the moratorium on commercial whaling established by the International Whaling Commission in 1986. These species also have the highest level of protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

“We appeal to Yahoo! to follow Amazon’s lead and stop the sale of all whale and dolphin products,” said Taryn Kiekow, staff attorney for NRDC. “By selling these products, Yahoo! Japan is condoning the slaughter of internationally recognized endangered and protected species. Whale meat is not only unsafe for human consumption, but is a travesty for the biological diversity of our oceans.”